Star Wars: The Clone Wars finale recap: Ahsoka’s adventure ends in ‘Victory and Death’
So it ends. The final episode of Star Wars: The final season of The Clone Wars came to Disney Plus on Monday, May 4th, after the siege of Mandalore and clone troops across the galaxy attacked Jedi when Order 66 was released. This is the 12th episode of the season and is called “Victory and Death”, a correspondingly dramatic and final sounding title.
We are deep in the events of Revenge of the Sith at that time and ex-Padawan Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) managed to get the inhibitor chip – with which Darth Sidious made the clones bad – out of the head of her buddy Commander Rex (Dee Bradley Baker). Unfortunately, they are also trapped in a medical bay where a number of Order 66 clones are ready to break in and end both.
Meanwhile crazy boy Maul (Sam widower) kills around the ship after Ahsoka releases him to cause a distraction. Let’s dive into the city of Clone Wars SPOILER one last time.
Fight back
Just as the clones break through the medical bay, Ahsoka and Rex burst out. They deflect blaster bolts seamlessly and fire stunning shocks. They knock out all of the troops without killing them (I don’t know if the guy Ahsoka hits with a door is okay, it definitely looked bad).
Elsewhere, Maul listens to the clones communicating with his poorly preserved armor piece, and approaches our heroes differently when he enters the hyperdrive chamber. He slaughters the clones and pulls down the generators, forcing the cruiser out of hyperspace – the trip to Coruscant is canceled. Sidious will be disappointed, he had tea ready for everyone! Tea and lightning.
The sudden pull out of the speed of light had a devastating effect on the cruiser – countless fires broke out on the hull as it streaked toward a moon. This is an absolutely spectacular picture, and Kevin Kiner’s use of synth for the soundtrack (that is available on Spotify) gives it a particularly dramatic blow.
“We have to get out of here,” Ahsoka says. Good call!
The Jedi way
Ahsoka, Rex, and their astromech droid friends have to get over the hangar to the last remaining shuttle (which bad Rex ordered to destroy the rescue capsules destroyed in the previous episode). Unfortunately, a huge contingent of Rex ‘s clone brothers – led by Jesse, because of course it had to be someone we knew – is in the way.
Admirably, Ahsoka is determined to stick to the non-lethal approach, even though the cruiser is doomed to fail. Noticing that Rex is quite excited about the situation, she takes off his helmet to find a tear that is rolling down his cheek.
“You are a good soldier Rex, just like any of these men down there,” she says. “You may be ready to die, but I am not the one who will kill you.”
It is clear that she has internalized the true meaning of a Jedi, a philosophy supported from her Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the clonesbefore becoming their master – “Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi’s life.” Unfortunately, Anakin doesn’t really practice what he preached this point.
Rex approaches Jesse and his company with Ahsoka at Blaster Point and pretends to have captured her, arguing that she hasn’t been a Jedi for ages – an attempt to confuse Order 66 programming with semantics. It gives them enough time for the droids to take a few clones down to a lower level, which covers the chances if Ahsoka and Rex continue their stunning distraction dance.
Maul’s escape
Your plan is thrown a bit wrong when Maul runs towards the ship – cheeky Charlie tries to escape alone!
“You wanted this mess!” he growls at Ahsoka when he nudges her with power. Maybe she shouldn’t have let the madman out of his cell after all.
Ahsoka comes an inch from drooling his throat, but he pushes it back and jumps into the shuttle. She tries briefly to prevent him from using the Force (like Rey in The Rise of Skywalker, but here is no unexpected flash), but stops to help Rex fight the converging clones.
The former Sith Lord jumps into hyperspace – bye-bye, we’ll see you in solo and Rebels (Please give this guy his own live action show on Disney Plus!).
Ahsoka and Rex are surrounded, so she forces her lightsabers to the ground and cuts a section around them so that they fall to a lower level. Faster than an elevator, faster than the stairs!
They find a little fighter to escape into and Rex gets in as the cruiser enters the moon atmosphere and breaks apart. After a few stylish falls and races along the rubble, Ahsoka manages to jump onto the shooter’s seat.
Saying goodbye
Some time later Ahsoka and Rex landed and buried some of the clones (presumably many bodies could not be recovered) and marked the graves with helmets on sticks.
In her robe, Ahsoka looks similar to the flash forward show Rebels (which you should watch now if you haven’t already – it runs on Disney Plus).
The tribute to the clones is like a less daunting version of the Stormtrooper helmets on sticks in the fifth episode of The Mandalorian. It also contrasts Ahsoka’s and Rex’s stance towards the clones in stark contrast to that of the empire, which they see as disposable tools because they are run by idiots.
Ahsoka accepts that she has to leave her old life completely behind and drops her remaining lightsaber on the ground next to the graves. Bye Ahsoka and Rex, we’ll see each other in Rebels.
Cameo the Sith
They knew this guy had to show up. We jump forward in time and Imperial stormtroopers, snow troops and probe droids patrol the crash site while a shuttle lands. It’s snowy now, so Hoth looks very similar The Empire Strikes Back.
Darth Vader approaches the graves and finds the lightsaber in his former self gave Ahsoka, activate it and look at its blue blade. He takes it with him when he leaves.
The final image of the show is Vader, which is reflected in the sight of a half-buried Clone Trooper helmet with Ahsoka-style markings. Bye Lord Vader, enjoy being a flaw on the galaxy.
Easter eggs and observations
- In the universe, the clone wars lasted three years (the time between the clone’s attack and the Sith’s revenge). The show’s seven seasons were broadcast over 12 real years, with a seven-year gap between seasons 6 and 7.
- The singing during the intro is reminiscent of John Williams’ compositions that are played during the intro Qui-Gon Jinn and Padme’s funerals in The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith.
- Rex is remarkably good for a man who has just had brain surgery.
- Jesse’s armor is so striking, and the symbol of the Republic on his helmet (along with the tattoo on his head) always indicated that he would follow Order 66.
- Ahsoka only drops one of her two lightsabers. She probably uses the other one to create those she leads in Rebels (this season contradicts the events in the 2016 Ahsoka Romanby building these sabers).
- It is incredible to see Vader and the troops of the original trilogy in the style of The Clone Wars.
- Vader, holding on to Ahsoka’s lightsaber, suggests that he hasn’t wiped out every last clue to Anakin Skywalker. This remnant will get him to save Luke The return of the Jedi.
This ends the last Star Wars project in which the creator George Lucas was directly involved. Bye The clone warsIt was a wild ride.